Currency demonetisation decision lies with govt: RBI

New Delhi, June 4 (PTI) Amidst demand by Yoga guru
Ramdev of banning currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the
Reserve Bank of India Saturday said the decision to demonetise
a currency is taken by the government not the regulator.
"These decisions (of banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes)
are taken by the government and not the RBI. The central bank
only prints currency notes, denominations are decided by the
government," Reserve Bank Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty said
here, to a query over Baba Ramdev's demand on discontinuation
of high value currency notes.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a
programme organised by International Management Institute.
Ramdev, who is on an indefinite fast against corruption
and blackmoney, is demanding that the government should ban
currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations to check
corruption.
However, experts believe that it would not be an easy
task for the government to take out Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes
from circulation.